Though Bright Walk has yet to light up the White Rock Pier for this year’s holiday season, something else is brightening the moods of visitors to popular waterfront destination on B.C.’s south coast: harbour seals.
Videos, photos, community group messages and social media posts have all actively featured these lively seals for a few weeks now, and it doesn’t seem like it will stop anytime soon.
Facebook groups have been alive with people posting that they’ve seen a swarm of around 100 to 200 of the seals in and around the surrounding waters.
White Rock resident Linda Crabtree said Monday (Nov. 17) that she often walks the promenade and pier in the early morning hours. On Nov. 14, she noticed an unusual number of seagulls flying around the pier.
“There were thousands of them and all diving into the waters for the abundance of herring a couple feet below the surface,” Crabtree said, referencing a large quantity of anchovies visible near the pier.
Crabtree and her daughter grew curious and said they went to take a look down the pier and saw a few harbour seals along the way.
“They seemed very relaxed, and some were having a bit of a nap and floating about on the surface, it was so cute,” she said.
However, it wasn’t until Crabtree and her daughter Nadiya Weaver reached the end of the pier that they noticed a large moving blanket of harbour seals.
“I could hardly believe what I was witnessing. About 100-plus seals moving through the water like they were knit together.”
She said they appeared to not be in any hurry, either.
“They were just gliding through the waters gracefully, we both felt very blessed to see them so close.”
Crabtree said she spoke with a few other long-term residents and they claimed to have only seen this three times in the past 50 years.
“It was a super-cool experience! I imagine it is a positive sign that there is an abundance of food for them here right now,” Crabtree said as she shared photos and videos of what she captured Monday morning.
Carlo Giovanella, a local birder and member of the White Rock and Surrey Naturalists, mentioned that a similar event occurred six years ago, in 2019. Much like what is happening now, there was a large influx of anchovies appearing in White Rock’s waters, attracting waterbirds, sea lions and a plethora of harbor seals.
He recalled that the swarm lasted for weeks and came to an end in late December.
“Perhaps we may be getting a repeat performance this winter?” he said, before sharing that he made a blog post about this back in 2020 recounting the fascinating occurrence.
You can read Giovanella’s blog post here.
For more pictures and videos of these marine mammals check out this Facebook group or see photos from a previous ‘Through Your Lens’ story on these seals here.
You can also head down to the White Rock Pier and capture your own adorable sightings.